So this is new and different. Today there is actually some good news out of Washington, D.C.!
Earlier in the summer, the D.C. Council approved a bill that would have required large retailers to pay their employees a “living wage” substantially higher than the minimum wage. And I do mean substantial – $12.50/hour as opposed to the minimum wage for the rest of D.C. of $8.25. The legislation was very obviously targeted at Wal-Mart, which was planning to build six new stores in the District, but it would also have likely affected other retailers in the future – large employers that could bring much-needed jobs to the area. You can find more details in a blog post from July here on The Locker Room.
Fortunately, the Mayor vetoed that legislation today (though an override vote will be considered next week).
Mayor Vincent Gray vetoed a bill Thursday that would force Wal-Mart and other large retailers to pay their employees at least $12.50 an hour, calling it a “job killer” that would not advance the goal of a living wage for District of Columbia workers….
Wal-Mart fought the legislation vigorously, pledging not to build three of the six stores it has planned for the nation’s capital if the bill became law. But Gray, a Democrat, said the bill would have a much larger impact than many people realized.
“The bill is a job-killer, because nearly every large retailer now considering opening a store in the district has indicated they would not come here or expand here if this bill becomes law,” Gray said, citing Target, Home Depot, Wegmans and others.
Gray is right. The bill IS a job-killer. One can only hope that the D.C. Council sees that and the veto is not overridden. D.C. simply cannot afford to lose the jobs that Wal-Mart and other large retailers would bring.
